Anil Pradhan, Innovating Education for Weaker Sections in Odisha
Anil
Pradhan, son of Late Muralidhar Pradhan and Chili Pradhan, has come from a
family of farmers, and born on
09/07/1969 at Raibahal, Post. Raniakata, Via. Raj Kishore Nagar-759126, Angul,
1. Experiences
1992 to 1995
- Joined as a
Programme Associate in Agragamee, Kashipur , Rayagada
- Coordinated
different projects such as District Resource Unit , Innovative and
Experimental Education programme supported by
the MHRD, Government of
India.
- Worked as one of the Senior
Programme Managers in Agragamee.
1996- till date
ü Joined Sikshasandhan as the Member-Secretary(Chief
Functionary)
ü Organised state level and national level
consultation on education for social
change
to work out strategies for
Sikshasandhan.
ü Developed Training packages and conducted training programmes for
teachers, pre-school instructors, functionaries of voluntary organizations,
senior functionaries of the Government of Orissa
ü Provided support services to voluntary
organizations on training, local specific curriculum development, and teaching
learning materials development.
ü Coordinated educational projects supported by
Actionaid, Catholic Relief Services,Welthungerhilfe,OXFAM India, Terre Des
Hommes-Germany, CRY , Care India, SDTT
and Swiss-aid.
ü Coordinated
an evaluation study of secondary schools managed by the
Schedule
Tribes and Schedule Castes Development
Department, Government of Orissa in 2000
ü Was
part of the research team,which executed an International Labour Organisation
sponsored study on Bondo Highlanders of
Orissa.
ü Developed and implemented an innovative education
programme for children of tribal communities in Orissa during 1999-2008 with
the support of Welthungerhilfe.
ü Coordinated a consortium consisting of grassroots voluntary organizations working in
the field of education in tribal areas of Orissa.
ü Convener, Odisha Siksha Adhikar Abhijan, a network
of voluntary organizations working in the field of Education in Odisha.
ü Convener, Odisha RTE Forum(state level alliance of
NGOs, networks work in the field of education and child rights)
2. Achievements
ü Developed a model education programme for children
of tribal communities which can be
replicated elsewhere after minor modification in view of the local situation.
More than 10,000 children benefited from the programme.
ü His effort has been contributed to influence Government of Odisha for mother
tongue based education in Orissa for children of tribal communities.
ü Under his leadership a library has been set up
consisting of valuable collections of
Odia autobiographies, biographies, local histories and books on Orissa.
Besides, Mr.Pradhan has set up 200 library in 200 government schools.
ü Coordinating publication of Sikshasandhan.More than
150 books on education, autobiographies , biographies and books for children have been published so
far.
ü A bi-monthly magazine Sikha has been published under his leadership since 1996 which
records news, views , experiences of the teachers, innovations on education.
ü Sikshasandhan became an well-known organization
under his leadership.
ü He has been establish contact with educationists, institutions and
universities within the country and abroad.
ü He organised the civil society organistaions to form a state wide
network Odisha RTE Forum, a forum of
NGOs,Funding agencies,teachers’union, and educationist to create pressure on
government to implement Rights of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act
2009 and bring about desired policy changes.
3.
Membership
ü Member,
.Orissa Gabeshana Chakra- An intellectual forum in Orissa
ü Founder
Member and Trustee of RUPANTAR- a
resource centre for translation registered
under Trust Act
ü Founder
Member of Nishant Foundation, a trust for promoting literary activities in the
state
ü Founder
Member of Centre for South Asian Studies, a trust for promoting
ü research
on South Asian Countries
ü Founder Member, SANJOJANA- a state level network
for Natural Resource Management
4. Books/Articles Published
ü Co-translator
of the book Siksha Bichara(Oriya
translation of the book “On Education by V.Sukhomlinsky) published by Sikshasandhan, Bhubaneswar, 2003.
ü Translation of excerpts from Oriya autobiographies
into English have been included in an
anthology(From Bondage to Freedom) published by RUPANTAR.,2006
ü Translation of an excerpt from Oriya women’s
writing into English has been included
in the book Early Women’ writing of
Orissa published by Sage, New Delhi.
ü Co-Editor, Anubhabamala-II and III (Diary of
Mr. Sarat Chandra Moharana, an eminent educationist and Gandhian)
ü In Their
Own Voices:Stories, Momories, Impressions of Tribal s in Orissa, a book edited by him was published in 2010.
ü A long
write-up included in Food Steps: Community Initiatives for Food
Security which was published
by Welthungerhilfe, Germany in 2008.
ü Number of Articles published in News Papers and
Magazines relating to education and development.
Country Visited:
Switzerland, Sweden,
Philippines Nepal and Bangladesh
